Grieve
by The Warrior Of Twilight
Summary: "He might be a Heartless, but he wasn't heartless. At least, not all of the time. And he'd always be there to comfort his grieving Nobody counterpart when he needs it." Two-shot, maybe, a fic of closure the past me wanted to write a long time ago.
1. Lost

**AN: Long ago, I had a crush on a fictional character. Long ago, I grieved and felt sorrow for her fate. Long ago, I wrote an OC of my own Nobody - Let's face it, we probably all imagined our own Nobodies - whom I paired with this character. And now, it's time to let that 14-year-old past me get some closure after so long.**

* * *

Screams. Screams. Oh so beautiful screams.

From the old-fashioned village, citizens fled in terror and panic over the the mass Shadows pursuing them for their hearts. The valiant fighters of this small, inconsequential village quickly fell, their weapons useless to the power of darkness. Observing with a casual posture, Kcxja grinned, leery yellow eyes glinting in amusement, head leaning down, sitting on the edge of a burning roof. Watching people lose their hearts was a favourite pastime of his; he bore no shame in admitting that.

Why wouldn't he? He was a Heartless, he could get away with enjoying this.

Oh, a woman tripped on the floor. Easy prey the following few seconds afterwards. The Heartless were here to, what else, consume and consume. You might think it'd be Kcxja's fault, ordering the Shadows and Emblems to attack the native village, but you'd be wrong; these Heartless were currently being controlled by a Hun warlord. Kcxja was just here to sit back and enjoy the show.

He just wished he brought some popcorn for the ride. Caxkj would be scolding him for mildly entertaining something normally horrific.

Speaking of, where was the man? Kxcja hasn't seen the man in weeks. Usually the Nobody didn't trust his Heartless self to behave without checking every damn five minutes. Standing upwards, Kcxja cracked his fingers casually and opened a Corridor. He can always watch these people across the world be eaten by his own kind later anyway.

Mostly because he never liked the Land of the Dragons to begin with.

* * *

Greeting his vision upon exiting the darkness was the stone bridge leading to a decaying castle. The Heartless wasted no time in extending his senses, reaching out to his other half...

Who wasn't here.

Great.

Curling his tanned lips in annoyance and bemusement, Kcxja snapped his fingers and summoned some Neoshadows before departing to search elsewhere. Give that Beast something to do other than please his captive with Stockholm Syndrome.

* * *

The Underworld. Nothing.

* * *

Halloween Town. Still nothing.

* * *

Agrabah. Even more nothing!

* * *

Now this was just getting ridiculous. Kcxja was growing more and more amused yet irritated at the lack of presence to his Nobody 'brother,' standing over the edge looking over the small unpleasant-welcoming town. Then again, what business would Caxkj have to be in Port Royal? But where else would the serious-minded, tender-'hearted' Nobody be?

Did the Organization discover something? Nah that can't be it, Caxkj was far too cautious about these things.

Where else would the man be...? Traverse Town? Hollow Bastion? Disney Castle? Atlantica? Kcxja outwardly snorted at that last one, briefly entertaining the image of Caxkj having some 'finny fun,' if ya know what he's saying.

Wink wink.

That redhead Princess was around the Nobody's physical age anyway, although she'd be Kxcja's type more than Caxkj's. Besides, his all-work-and-no-play other self was far more interested in that Sora puppet...

Aha!

Kcxja knew exactly where his Nobody brother was.

* * *

Called it!

Emerging just outside the town station, Kcxja immediately sensed the nearby signature of his other self. You'd think Nobodies would have no scent because they're, by all means, a form of nothingness itself. But even they have an uncanny scent for Heartless to track down. You know that smell of something new and freshly packaged?

Imagine the package being trodden on by a herd of elephants, and that's what Nobodies smell like. Caxkj was no exception. Taking a gander, Kcxja glanced upwards to correctly guess where exactly the other teenager was. Yep, just as he thought. A lone figure sat atop the edge of the clock tower, where the three Organization stooges normally sat upon themselves, according to what Caxkj shares with his Heartless self.

Time to go say hello. Folding his arms, a smug Kcxja started to ascend through the air, taking his sweet time upwards. The ever-setting sun shone against his long black hair, by the time he reached up to the level of his Nobody counterpart. If Caxkj sensed him, the man made no acknowledgement. In fact, Caxkj was staring at his own cloaked legs with hands clasped together resting on his knees, making no movements whatsoever. Long white hair hid half the man's pale features from the amused Heartless.

What's with him? "I was wondering where you were." Kcxja started casually, grinning. "A whole week without you pestering me? I was beginning to think something happened to you."

No answer. That's fine.

"Now here you are, acting like an emo again." Floating towards the man, Kcxja playfully tapped the Nobody's temple. "What's got you in dreamland this time? You tried out that sea salt ice cream? That stuff sounds awful... Need to try some myself, thinking about it."

Again, no answer. Kcxja raised a brow, this time leaning downwards to get a proper look and- Huh?

No way.

No way in the Underworld were those dry tear marks! Must be the sun playing tricks on him.

"Trouble in paradise?" Kxcja guessed with a smirk. "Did that puppet reject you?" At last! A reaction! The man's pale features grimaced, gloved hands gripping tightly onto each other. "Aww is that it? Did she refuse your advances regardless of how subtle you were? Or did Roxas get to her first-?"

"Enough."

One word, quiet but authoritative. Caxkj always had that skill of putting power to any word he uses, despite adopting the kind part of their original self's nature. That command would work on anyone, you know, if they weren't Kcxja. "Telling me to shut up, Caxy? Guess it went worse than I thought. Well, your big bro's here to help get you over your crush-"

"Kcxja."

"- And find a woman who isn't the byproduct of a grinning idiot and an air-headed Princess-"

 _"Kcxja."_ This time, the Heartless paused, blinking somewhat at the force behind that command. Was that grit teeth? Caxkj was usually the most composed person he knows. Just had badly did the puppet's rejection impact his Nobody counterpart?

"Huh, was it her time of the month when she said no-?"

"She's dead, Kcxja."

"I'd be too if you were coming on to me- What?" The Heartless cut himself off, finally seeing Caxkj's face completely since he got here. A pale expression, long white hair covering one green eyes, but the other one reflected everything Kcxja needed to be told.

Pain... Pure pain. Caxkj wasn't lying... He was _grieving..._

"Dead...?" The Heartless whispered in genuine surprise. Rarely anything could catch him off-guard, but this? This was unexpected. Not to mention, for once, Caxkj was holding nothing back; hurt and depression echoing on the Nobody's features. A contradiction to the man's nature as a creature with no heart. But Caxkj was unique among Nobody kind, having taken the light side of their original self's personality whereas Kcxja adopted the darker side. "Are you sure, bro, it's not just...?"

With a heaved sigh, Caxkj twitched his mouth in pure pain. "Not this time... I saw it, and I couldn't prevent it..." Oh dear Kingdom Hearts, tears were starting to emerge at the corner of the man's eye. You can't fake these things. Caxkj stared at his own lap again, voice trembling in sorrow, "I _could've_ stopped it. I should've... Should have... _Xion..."_

Now, Kcxja was a Heartless, but he wasn't _heartless._ At least, not all the time. There's no denying he was a jerk at the highest natures, entertaining himself through the pain and bad luck of others. He was a trickster, a Master of Darkness, the King of Dark Comedy. But there were those times, those very, _very_ few rare times, where he would restrain himself for others he cared about in the slightest.

And this would be one of those times. He can revel in the suffering of others, but the closest thing he had to a brother? That was another story entirely.

Because, instead of feeling amusement at the Nobody's clear pain, Kcxja felt a cold sensation of dread, disappointment... And anger. He knew, even a little, collaboration with that Organization and getting close to Sora's puppet would only spell doom for his fragile Nobody self. And now, with what happened, Kcxja was enraged.

"Tell me what happened." Kcxja ordered, serious for the first time. And, slowly, as Caxkj managed to compose himself enough to recount the events of what occurred leading up to the puppet's demise, it confirmed the Heartless's suspicions.

Even Xehanort's Nobody was good at ruining lives. Kcxja wasn't fond of Xion to begin with, seeing her only as a tool of the Organization and will be disposed by them when they felt like it - 'Felt,' ha ha - often teasing and sometimes discouraging Caxkj from getting close to the puppet, and by extension Sora's Nobody and the Organization's top assassin. But Caxkj was insistent, believing Xion was deserving of being a person in her own right, and opted to help her however he can.

And look where that got him now...

"It's all my fault..." Caxkj mumbled, a lone tear spotted streaking down his face. For the first time ever since his birth, the Nobody looked nothing else but vulnerable.

And Kcxja, for all his japers and capers, opted to say nothing at all. Because, sometimes, silence was a comfort enough, and he knew his counterpart enough that the other would appreciate it. So, the Heartless placed a gloved hand on the Nobody's shoulder, the Darkness comforting as the Light grieved.

* * *

 **AN: Considering of adding a second part to this, depending on my own interest and if others like this enough for it to continue. I won't fool myself into believing many people will bother even reviewing this story, but I hope for the best!**


	2. Found

**AN: And now... The curtain call. KHIII spoilers for the ending if no one's seen it yet.**

* * *

"I told you."

"..."

"I TOLD you she was here."

"..."

"Caxxy? Boy? You gonna say something... Or react? No emote? Granted you're incapable of emotion... Or _should_ be, but still. All this trouble I've put into finding her and NOW you're just gonna stand there like a- Whoa, hey there!"

White gloves immediately struck, fully catching his counterpart before the latter could fall face-first into the yellow sand, shaded by sunset. Instead, the poor teenage Nobody landed on black knees instead, the chains of his coat clinking from the abrupt descent. Kcxja grunted in humoured satisfaction, shaking his tanned head with a wry smile.

"Easy brother... I've gotcha."

But the white-haired Nobody didn't seem to hear, one visible left eye of pure emerald glistening by the sight before his widened eye, past the gathered Keybearers upon the spacious island to the young girl gasping in recognition, lightly pushing past her friends for deep blue to see if what she was seeing was true. Her two best friends quickly glancing at each other before regarding the black-haired worriedly.

"Xion?"

"Xion, you know these guys?"

A certain court magician exclaimed in accusatory irritation. "They must be with the Organization!" Weapons were drawn, as was a multitude of utter confusion, all save the young re-completed girl whom looked ready to buckle under her knees by the sight of the white-haired boy too.

"Do I look like a walking Xeha-Puppet to you?" The black-haired Heartless keeping his counterpart steady called out in snide, grinning wickedly before the following whisper alerted his ears.

"Xion..."

The former fourteenth member of a lost league inhaled softly by the broken, almost disbelieving name, wrenching her reformed heart enough to call back in ached wonder.

"Caxkj..."

Aurora green met ocean blue, the Nobody finding himself standing on two feet and pushing his joking objective Heartless self back, stabilizing on the sand and forcing movement in his two lower limbs. From behind the young black-haired girl, the friends of hers, while keeping their guards up, lowered their weapons only slightly in curious befuddlement. Not that Kcxja personally blamed them, the Heartless smirking with fold arms before calling out in jest to lighten up the mood.

"Hey, kid who changes sides like a yo-yo!" Riku scowled from the playful addressal. "Cheers for gettin' rid of that darkness-hogging Ansem! There can be only ONE humanoid Heartless! Now I AM the best!" But that wasn't everyone's prime focus then.

 _"Caxkj!"_

 _"Xion!"_

The setting sun poured with breathtaking warmth upon the reunited pair, embracing one another with heart-wrenching bliss in the center of the clean beach, knelt down and buried with another's black clothing. Even Kcxja, even a creature of nothing from the dark, experienced the slightest tinge of _something_ inside his black center, crossing arms with a sly smile, cocking his head upwards while certain people such as Roxas, Axel and Riku were the least wary enough to stand with him, observing the tearful spectacle in their own bafflement.

"Say." The former assassin of Organization XIII spoke up then without taking his green eyes off the emotionally smiling couple for one second. "Wanna explain to us what in the heck's going on?"

"Oh those two are secret lovers." Kcxja replied callously, shrugging by their aghast expressions followed by a cheeky smile. "What? You thought it was just blindfold boy taking care of the puppet when she ran away, TWICE? Nah, those have a loooooot of catching up to do."

Roxas and Axel traded bewildered glances, then back to their black-haired friend snuggling in the middle of the beach with the white-haired stranger. From the rest of the hopelessly confused group, Naminé smiled secretly to herself behind a graceful hand, clear blue twinkling in knowing.

Nonetheless, it was a scene the rest couldn't resist but smile lightly to in the end, especially as both young foreheads leaned against one another with utterly thrilled green and blue eyes. It was Xion whom broke the tearful silence first.

"You kept your promise, even when you forgot..."

Caxkj exhaled with emotional upheaval, managing his tiny grin. "My dear Xion... I always keep my promise... And I never forgotten... Not in here..." A black-gloved hand covering his chest, followed by the tight embrace of affectionate reunion, a sign for everyone else to join them with the cheerful news of much more happiness and the signal of a new tomorrow.

And watching away from everyone else participating with the friendship circle, Kcxja allowed himself a fond snort and closed eyes in mock distress. "Wonderful... Guess we're sticking around, meaning no more causing mayhem for a while... Heh, the things even we of the dark do for our friends..."

Beaming over casually to the gleaming, resting sun.

* * *

 **AN: The closure is completed. It's fine if you don't understand some details; this is more for me... Expressing what needed to be done after just finishing the saga... I think, in the end, happiness is all we should express. Why not add one more, eh?**

 **Everyone. Fans, readers, friends, all of you... I hope this latest game was a worthy conclusion to sixteen years of a great series, and leaves you wanting to see what happens next.**

 **May your heart be your guiding keys.**


End file.
